We’ve all had “that” professor. You know, the one whose monotone voice is dull enough to narcotize an insomniac; the one who reads Power Point slides verbatim and regularly gives pop quizzes to show his/her students how poorly educated they are.
But not all professors are quite as inept at teaching. Every now and then students encounter professors whose knowledge of their field is so impressive that students have no choice but to pay attention. It could be the history professor who lunges at you from across the room to re-enact the murder of a French king or the English professor who reads Shakespeare with more passion than a Broadway actor. These are the professors who keep us from snoozing through 9:30 a.m. turbos or from ditching class altogether.
So allow me to give a brief version of Teaching for Dummies from a student’s perspective.
Do’s:
1.Show enthusiasm. There’s nothing worse than sitting through a class that even the professor does not want to teach. Professors who show excitement prove that their years of graduate school were spent on a topic in which they are truly interested. It may even convince us that the material isn’t as dull as we had originally thought.
2.Allow tangents. Realize that small, topic-related tangents can be just as productive and interesting, if not more, than a strict class agenda. Trying to cram in too much material in a short amount of time never ends up well for students. Spread out the material among more classes so that other important discussions and clarifications can be possible.
3.Be visual. Projector slides, pictures, videos, charts/diagrams and handouts are always a plus. It’s not enough to read about famous composers or operas-let us hear them and watch them. How could biology majors understand the anatomy of a frog if they haven’t dissected one? Reading can be such a bore, but the addition of visuals is a whole different ballpark.
4.Give credit where credit is deserved. Congratulating students for a job well done goes a long way. It shows us that our hard work has not gone unnoticed and will encourage us to keep performing well.
5.Get students involved. If my eyelids start getting heavy in class, one of the first things I try to do is participate. The more interactions students have with their professors, the more likely we are to stay awake and interested. Though we hate it when professors call on us and we don’t know the answer, it’s a surefire way to scare us into being prepared for class.
According to the University Web site, 89 percent of Fairfield’s undergraduate faculty has obtained a doctorate. Knowing that our minds are in the hands of such able scholars is comforting, but a doctorate means nothing if a professor’s teaching methods are dull.
However, according to Timothy Law Snyder, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University attempts to “recruit a diverse array of professors who can work well within our University mission and tradition and, as a part of that, excel in quality teaching and in quality scholarship and service.”
He added, “We tell candidates that, in order to succeed [at Fairfield], they must exhibit good to excellent teaching.” In my experience at Fairfield, professors have upheld these standards.
Yes, teaching is yet another job that yields a paycheck. Many times it requires working twice as hard as someone who sits behind a desk in an office cubicle. But as cliché as it sounds, teachers shape tomorrow’s workers, and the way we accept and succeed in the real world when we graduate will be reflective of how well we’ve been prepared for it.
Leave a Reply